A social cooperative in Vigonza, not far from Padua in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy, has been seized by Padua's flying squad among accusations that the cooperative was engaged in the exploitation of undocumented migrants.

In Italy, social cooperatives are often set up to work within the Italian reception system, offering activities, support and sometimes accommodation for different categories of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

The operation in question was executed with the support of the Labor Inspectorate as part of an inquiry that involves a 48-year-old man from Padua who was the former president of the cooperative until last December.

The man is under investigation for violation of migration regulations, extortion, and illegal worker recruitment.

'Migrants from Mali Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Guinea exploited'

According to the inquiry findings, the co-operative, despite not having participated in tenders for migrant sheltering, was allegedly using foreigners to do assembly work and labeling (which included the use of the baler) without any remuneration, medical assistance nor insurance against accidents, and making the migrants live in ramshackle housing.

Allegedly the cooperative exploited a total of 19 undocumented migrants from Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Guinea. They were waiting for their residency permits to be issued as asylum seekers, and for this reason, they were assigned to a second co-operative that was housed in the same warehouse.

The 48-year-old man under investigation reportedly took advantage of their state of need to make them sign a voluntary training work agreement for three months.

The migrants understood that if they had refused to sign the papers, they could be at risk of losing their shelter (lodging and food) in addition to the risk of not seeing their paperwork formalities completed.

Foreigners employed without a salary, and classed as 'volunteers'

The inquiry began after police raided the home of a Tunisian man who had been expelled in 2019 and then hired by the cooperative.

The cooperative is reported to have contracts inside Rovigo prison and a second operational site in Pianiga (Venice).

Documents gathered by the inquiry appear to show that the president of the cooperative "hired" numerous foreigners, only some of them actually had legal status to be in Italy.

The inquiry then verified that the second cooperative was officially managing the Center for Extraordinary Reception (CAS), but 16 of its guests were illegally employed by the other co-operative under investigation.

According to the investigation, the migrants worked without being paid, although they had fixed hours, and fixed tasks. Although they had verylittle knowledge of the Italian language, the agreements they signed were based on training pacts for social inclusion and listed their status as "volunteers."

The victims did not dare show any resistance because they were afraid of losing their shelter and the pocket money guaranteed by the Prefecture. These resources were being managed, found the inquiry, by the cooperative's president, even though the shelter was formally offered by the second cooperative.